Ethiopia Day One: The Journey

Me and Andy at the airport getting ready to board!

November 29, 2010 finally arrived!!! We had looked forward to this day for a LONG time. We got the kids ready and sent them off to school. We then delivered all of the kids' stuff to my parents house. We returned home to finish getting ready to go... cleaning house, final packing, finishing up work, etc. My dad arrived to pick us up and we left for the airport with tons of luggage in tow. Once we got to the airport we weighed in the luggage (which was full of donations) and each bag weighed approximately 49.5 pounds. We were allowed 4 bags and they could weigh 50 pounds each. We had collected one bag full of educational supplies from Andrea's third grade class. I was so proud of all of their efforts. Two of the bags were donations from families at the preschool where I teach. I still have another 50 pounds at home that we could not fit. We had an uneventful flight to Detroit with about an hour layover. Right when we were boarding for our flight to Amsterdam I decided to check my email. We had an email from our social worker and I nearly collapsed right there on the spot. She informed us that all of the orphanages in southern Ethiopia had just had their license revoked (but don't worry it all works out and the license is renewed!!! but we didn't know it yet). We were left with the difficult decision of going or not going. Earlier that morning we were given a scripture that said, "Arise and Go." So, we knew that we were suppose to go regardless of the news we received. Andy called our social worker and she encouraged us to go ahead and board our flight but she wasn't sure if we were still going to have our court hearing or not. We knew then that the prayers of our friends and family would be carrying us the rest of our journey because the outcome was completely unknown. Would we have court? Would we become her parents? Would someone even be at the airport to pick us up? Needless to say, the flight to Amsterdam was long. I took a sleeping pill but still didn't get much rest. My heart was heavy and restless, but I kept rolling the entire situation over to the Lord. We arrived in Amsterdam and then boarded our plane to Ethiopia. This was another long flight, but we decided to stay awake so that we would be able to sleep once we got there. Landing in Ethiopia was surreal. It was at night, about midnight. We got off the plane and went right to the line to get our visa (which only took about 15 minutes) and then we went through customs to get our passport stamped. After that we exchanged our money. There were two banks there and we couldn't decide which bank to use because one had a long line, but the other had no one. We were hesitant, but the lady kept saying... It's the same!!!! So, we went to the one that had no one, and guess what, It was the same! We went out and collected our bags, surprisingly we found all of them. None of them were lost. Andy was so glad he kept the luggage tags, because they asked to see them before we could leave the airport. As we walked out there were SEVERAL Ethiopian people waiting at the gate. At that point I must admit that I got a little nervous. We didn't recognize anyone!!! But as we rounded the corner there was a man in the back waving a Bethany Christian Services sign. I nodded at him and he met us at the gate. We quickly made our introductions and then immediately asked about the license being revoked. He unfortunately had no answers for us, but in his kind way tried to reassure us and did let us know that we would still appear before the courts. This relieved us slightly, but our hearts were still heavy and nervous. This man ended up becoming a friend as we spent the rest of the week with him. Abel was the most amazing guide and went above and beyond to make our stay so memorable. I love that guy!! He recently published a book about the history of Ethiopia (for dummies... as he called it!! LOL). It is designed for adoptive families to use as a history book for their children. Well, we bought 2 of them! At the airport I had to use the restroom and had my first Ethiopian restroom experience. There was no toilet paper. I was so glad that I had my wet wipes!!! There was no trashcan either! We waited for a short time for 3 other families to arrive. It was great because we soon found out that we knew them from the Forum I follow. All of us were staying at the same guest house and all of our children were at Shalom. These people ended up becoming good friends. We walked out of the airport and the first thing I noticed was the smell of the city. I can't really describe it, but it was very different! We loaded ALL of the luggage onto the top of our bus. I was nervous that it would make it to our guest house, but it did. As we drove through the city of Addis Ababa, I was first amazed at how developed it was, but I was also amazed at how few people were out and about. It appeared deserted! Abel told us that once the sun goes down, the people go home. I also noticed that our driver didn't drive in the lanes on the road, but I didn't think much of this (until the next day!). We arrived at the guesthouse and Birtukan, the owner, met us at the door and insisted that we sit down for a hot meal. It was probably the best soup I have ever had! We were soooo hungry and sooooo tired. We ate well and then soon went to our room for bed. Needless to say, we slept really well that night. We left Indiana on Monday afternoon and arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Tuesday night around 11pm. What a long journey!